here is what is on my list of things to do in the next couple of days:

get junk off the floor for carpet cleaning today
call window washer
get 'distressed khaki' paint at sherwin williams
paint and re-do powder room
get paint and supplies for screened porch
sand and paint screened porch floor
hang shelf in dining room
get 2 small christmas trees for front porch
rearrange furniture in family room
get six more curtain rings from antique drapery rod for dining room panel
get some sort of winter flowers for the flower boxes

sound fun?
:)

after several of you posted about matthew mead, i checked out his fabulous website (which is complete with video clips - go matthew!). in his portfolio section, i found this picture(click on above photo). matthew, it was YOU!! about a year or two ago, i saw this photograph in country home magazine and it changed my design thinking entirely. you see, that white chair to the left, that's me. i'm a tried and true traditionalist, i like structure, roots, predictability. but, man, can i get bored. that's when i have to have my taste of freshness, fun, maybe even a little craziness. when i saw these two chairs side by side, i saw how home decor can put these two ideas together beautifully. so, a year or so ago, i made some changes around here. most of my home is still like the chair to the left, but thanks to matthew, here and there i have added the bang! the pow! the piece that screams, you are still fun, you are still with it, you still shop at ikea, you still know what is going on in the world outside of flea markets and antique shops. you are not boring and there is still peace.

i hope you all had a nice thanksgiving. you know how i told you i had guests coming here for the big meal? well, we all changed our minds and now i am going to go up there around christmas time. so yesterday we ate dinner at my husband's parents who live close by. i brought the bread, a broccoli dish, and a pie. my mother-in-law made the rest and it was a good thing. she is a good cook. :)

are you out shopping today? i do not like crowds, so i have most of my shopping done. now i can stay in and play. i finished covering these two chairs this afternoon. i painted one in martha stewart's 'hummingbird' (the dark one) and the other is in 'beryl'. four more to go!

oops! this post was supposed to be before merry and bright??? i don't know how i did that. i guess i'm talking too much today :)

since i didn't have to get things all prettied up for thanksgiving, i have really been able to focus on christmas. there is nothing like a holiday gathering to get you in the mood. i'm working on the service line. i got some beverage glasses to use instead of traditional wine glasses (anthropologie) and some polka-dot letters from li'l davis designs (making memories). i know you know where that house came from and the knob, well maybe you know all about that too:)

i got my stockings out last night. looking at the box of ornaments makes me want my tree up. we have a really small family room, so i wonder where we will put it. i think i will have to lose a piece of furniture to fit it in! we have always gotten our tree the day after thanksgiving, but this year it might be the day before. are you getting hungry yet?

i had stenciled the wall above the stairs some time ago, but decided that the wall running perpendicular to it could stay without the design. i knew this decision was more about laziness, really, then what was truly best for the wall. so yesterday, i gave in. i'm such a sucker :)

a few weeks ago, i noticed a little white milk box on a friend's front porch. i commented on how cute it was and she said, to my surprise, "it is real." and i said, "like...a real milkman comes here and brings you milk?" i was in disbelief. but, yes, in 2006 there is a milkman!
and now, he comes to my house too! and i love him. he has a real milkman truck and he brings fresh cold organic milk (in bottles!), along with cheese, eggs, yogurt, etc. he leaves it all in the cute little white insulated milk box on our front porch. when we are home, we hear him knock and yell, "it's the milkman!" i mean, can it get any better than that?

to those of you who saw my post from last night and commented....you are amazingly generous. i couldn't even publish your comments, i was so embarrassed by your compliments! too, too kind you all are. to answer some questions: aimee, yes, i am a hokie! jolene, my mother would just die if i posted her picture, she is even more camera shy than i am! :) ashley, no scotch needed, i plan to do a tour around december 14th :) thanks again to all of you bloggin' buddies. you bring me so many smiles. oh yeah, and bethy is my real name(short for elizabeth, which is technically my middle name).

remember how i was so uninspired? well, leave it to target. they didn't forget about me. i think there are little elves working for target who just know i am coming. little elves, i found what you made for me. thank you so much.

when my mom was here, she bought me this hook rack. i hung it up today just off my kitchen and i love it - thanks, mom! now i am looking for the perfect children's aprons to hang from the hooks. you know, i feel like i have seen just what i am looking for so many times, but now that i am ready to buy...i have no idea where to look?? and i was thinking, my children are 4 and 5, they of course no longer wear a bib, but an apron, hmmm, if i could get them into wearing aprons regularly, i might just be saving myself some laundry loads here. aprons are cool, right?

when i make a big purchase, i really do my homework. i imagine the item in the desired place, i measure, i move things around, i envision, i dream...and then, i decide. so, really, i am rarely surprised. most of the time, the purchased item is exactly what i thought it would be. that is true with my table. i feel it has always been here. it blends right in. but today at target, i had a moment of oops. when you buy an 8 foot table, you can't just pick up a holiday tablecloth. now why didn't i think of that? so it is a very good thing that i bought myself a sewing machine because my very first project will be a tablecloth. to make it easy on myself, i am going to simply sew two purchased standard rectangular tablecloths together. i mean i am a novice at this and i do want a ruffle. that is okay isn't it?

i did a little "inspiration shopping" this morning and found a few christmas things to set my theme. i think i am going for a polka dot christmas. yup, i am. :)

uninspired. do you ever feel like there is too much to do...so you do nothing? i know i told you i am getting ready for christmas and i need to work on the powder room, but things are moving very slowly around here. i have lists on top of lists, but really, i am just not in the mood. it is cold and rainy and i can't seem to drink enough coffee to get my bottom out of this chair. i think i need a christmas theme. i think that would get me going. last year i went with a cottage cozy antique-white theme. the year before that, i added a little modern sparkle. the year before that i went with traditional red. i have always changed my theme a bit year to year, and i don't mean i spend much money in doing it. i just pull from my attic what i want to emphasize and buy a few new statemenet pieces to set the tone. i'm guessing most of you do that, right? but i don't know where i am going with it yet this year. maybe if i did, i would get busy and get out of this chair!

speaking of christmas, if you haven't already, it is time to start shopping!! mom, if you are reading this, i know what is on my list! actually, i think i will make a few posts about some great gift ideas (for me??) this year. (so, keep reading, mom :)

a lot of my favorite things are from french general. i listened to kaari's radio show (sidebar "radio")and i can't wait to get my hands on some lavender scents. i have always wanted a bead kit too, in blue? or pink? or white? i guess it doesn't matter. they all look simply wonderful.



this morning i took my daughter to be sketched by a local artist. i was so happy with her work, that i am having several copies made. so, mom, if you are still reading, i guess you know what you are getting under the tree :) belle-ah wrote yesterday that she has already started the christmas music at her house. well, i am going to join you miss belle-ah. let the holidays begin! cheers!

after halloween, it is pretty much christmas time. i know that sounds hasty to a few of you, but i mean it in a preparedness sort of way. if you are hosting guests, like i am, you know it is time to get the house in serious gear. so, i am trying to brush off this head cold for good and get started on some serious projects because i feel like i am already a day late, it is the second! as you may know, i am having thanksgiving guests, but i am also hosting a few christmas shindigs here in december. i love to have parties, but seriously, i get totally stressed out. i made a list this morning of things that have to get done. one of them is to fix up my powder room. powder rooms are very important. almost all of your guests will visit this tiny space and they will have a moment (or two??) to scrutinize your decor. my powder room is in no way ready for this. it was freshly painted when the painter was here, but that is really all it has going for it and i don't even think i like the color. i let my painter talk me into it - please don't ever do that. so, i am ready to make the small space something a little more special, a little more a reflection of my taste. the photo above is of my son's bedroom last year when i added some wood panels to give it a beadboard look. i was thinking of doing this to the powder room. the long vertical wood slats are available just like that at the home depot - no cutting (except for under windows and such). it was a pretty easy project, i just measured and glued. i am such an amateur so in one small section the chair rail is upside down! no one has noticed yet. my painter then caulked and painted with a durable trim paint to really give it a finished look. i don't know if i could make it look good enough for the tough inspection given to the powder room, so i was also thinking of polka-dotting the walls with painted wooden flowers. i can't decide, but something must be done. today, i am just going to paint the brass light fixture. you gotta start somewhere.